Oak Ridge Today

New laws in effect on Friday: Wine sales, guns on campus, ‘slow poke’ law

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Information from WYSH Radio

Several new laws go into effect on Friday, July 1, in Tennessee.

The most highly-publicized of these new laws is one that will allow certain gas stations and grocery stores to obtain licenses to sell wine. More than 400 businesses have obtained the necessary licenses and will be able to start legally selling wine at 8 a.m. Friday, July 1.

Beginning Friday, faculty and staff and public colleges and universities in Tennessee will be able to carry concealed guns on campus. Those wishing to carry will have to register their weapons with campus police departments. [Read more…]

BBB-TV: Changes coming to Oliver Springs Town Hall

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Information from WYSH Radio

It looks like sweeping changes will be coming to the Oliver Springs city government. As our partners at BBB-TV have previously reported, City Manager Becky Campbell is stepping down, and her last day on the job will be today (June 30).

Earlier this week, Billing and Accounts Director Susan Tyler also announced that she will be retiring, effective today as well. Longtime Fire Chief Terry Phillips has also announced his retirement, which also goes into effect today. [Read more…]

Legal Aid Society moves Oak Ridge office to new location

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Victory Centre

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest nonprofit law firm, has relocated its Oak Ridge office from 226 Broadway Avenue to Suite 201 in Victory Centre, which is pictured above, at 575 Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Photo courtesy of R&R Properties)

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest nonprofit law firm, has relocated its Oak Ridge office. The office has moved from 226 Broadway Avenue to Suite 201 in Victory Centre at 575 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

The new 3,590-square-foot office’s location is convenient for clients and guests, a press release said. The space also meets Legal Aid Society’s growing tech infrastructure needs: The firm recently began deploying video conferencing technology, which it will use to better connect with other staff members, volunteer attorneys, and clients across the nonprofit law firm’s 48-county service area.

“We are fortunate to have found an office that is so easily accessible to our clients and the public—plus the amount of space and the amenities allow our office to be both inviting and functional,” said Janet Mynatt, managing attorney of Legal Aid Society’s Oak Ridge office. [Read more…]

Updated: Missing child located, safe

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Note: This story was updated at 1:48 p.m.

The child reported missing from West Outer Drive on Wednesday afternoon has been located, and he is safe, authorities said.

The three-year-old was reported missing at about 1 p.m. Wednesday. The Oak Ridge Police Department confirmed that he had been located at about 1:44 p.m.

To contact the ORPD, you may call them at 911 for emergencies and (865) 425-4399 for non-emergencies.

To sign up for text alerts from the ORPD, text your zip code to 888777. You can also see a sign-up form on the Nixle website at http://local.nixle.com/alert/5671353/.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Learn about secrecy, security, spies at Turnpike Gatehouse on July 8

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The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse is pictured above on the west end of town. (Submitted photo)

 

Learn about secrecy, security, and spies in a program presented by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge on Friday, July 8. The program will start at 3 p.m. July 8 at the Oak Ridge Turnpike Gatehouse on the west end of town.

“The program will give visitors some insight to what life was like in Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project, with all the security, the need for secrecy, and the worry of spies,” a press release said.

It’s free and open to the public. Parking is limited, so please try to carpool if possible. The gatehouse is also at a trail head for the North Boundary Greenway, and visitors can go for a self-guided hike after the program.

Visitors that are taking the U.S. Department of Energy public tour are encouraged to attend the program after the tour. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Elks Lodge donates storage building to Agape House of Oak Ridge

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Pictured in the photo from left to right are Lynne and Michael McCutcheon, Agape House directors, along with Elks Lodge members John Calvert and Terry Standsberry. (Submitted photo)

Pictured in the photo from left to right are Lynne and Michael McCutcheon, Agape House directors, along with Elks Lodge members John Calvert and Terry Standsberry. (Submitted photo)

 

Members of the Oak Ridge Chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks recently donated a newly purchased 10′ by 12′ storage building to the Agape House of Oak Ridge.

The Agape House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides short term, temporary housing to the homeless in the community who are on a path to self-sufficiency, a press release said.

The storage building will provide safe storage solutions to families that are temporally homeless in order to keep some of their personal possessions until permanent housing is obtained. [Read more…]

Museum of Appalachia celebrates July 4 with ‘boom’ of anvil shoot

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On July 4th, the Museum of Appalachia celebrates Independence Day in dramatic fashion. For nearly 30 years, the Museum has celebrated the Fourth of July by practicing the pioneer-tradition of “anvil-shooting.” (Photo courtesy Museum of Appalachia)

On July 4th, the Museum of Appalachia celebrates Independence Day in dramatic fashion. For nearly 30 years, the Museum has celebrated the Fourth of July by practicing the pioneer-tradition of “anvil-shooting.” (Photo courtesy Museum of Appalachia)

 

On July 4th, the Museum of Appalachia celebrates Independence Day in dramatic fashion. For nearly 30 years, the Museum has celebrated the Fourth of July by practicing the pioneer-tradition of “anvil-shooting.”

Each year, huge crowds gather to watch the Museum blacksmith as he packs gunpowder between two anvils and lights a fuse—launching the top anvil some 125 feet into the air. As the anvil soars high above the treetops, the earth literally shakes, and the sound of the explosion can be heard as far as 15 miles away.

Before there were fireworks, shooting the anvil was a common way for pioneers to celebrate special events, a press release said. Local blacksmiths would practice this tradition to celebrate the nation’s Independence, Christmas, and even Davy Crockett’s election to the U.S. Congress.

“While the tradition of anvil-shooting is nearly obsolete, the Museum honors our ancestors by carrying on this unique and exciting form of celebration,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Roane State offering software development course

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Roane State Community College Workforce Development will offer a class for those interested in software development or Web application development.

The course, “Front End, Back End Development Foundations,” will be on Fridays from July 29-August 26 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the college’s Oak Ridge campus at 701 Briarcliff Avenue.

Topics will include HTML5, JavaScript, testing and debugging, object-oriented programming, SQL databases, and more. The cost is $799. [Read more…]

County mayor to host community meeting for Claxton road project

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The Anderson County Mayor’s Office will host a community meeting on July 7 in Claxton, and the public is invited to attend and hear from state road officials about plans to improve Clinton Highway (US 25W) from Edgemoor Road to the Knox County line.

The community meeting will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on July 7 at the Claxton Community Center, 1150 Edgemoor Road. Officials from the Tennessee Department of Transportation will discuss the project in detail as well as gather input from the public. Representative John Ragan and Senator Randy McNally, as well as Claxton Commissioners Tracy Wandell and Chuck Fritts are scheduled to be in attendance.

The proposed project—intended to reduce fatal and injury motor vehicle crashes while improving safety and access along the corridor—will include resurfacing the existing roadway and reconfiguring lane markings to allow dedicated passing areas, a continuous center turn lane, and wider shoulders, a press release said. The project was initiated after a meeting in April 2016 between Anderson County, TDOT, and local and state law enforcement officials. [Read more…]

Four Oak Ridge quilters take home honors at Smoky Mountain quilt show

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Four Oak Ridge quilters took home honors at the 36th Annual Quilt Show, hosted by the Smoky Mountain Quilters of Tennessee on June 17-18 in the Knoxville Expo Center. Patty Ashworth, Gloria Felter, Donna Wiffen, and Laura Thurman received awards for their creations at the event, where nearly 200 quilts were on display.

Honorable Mention awards went to:

  • Ashworth’s “Split Squares” quilt in the Small Quilts category;
  • Felter’s “Stars Over Africa” quilt in the Wall Quilts, Pieced and Quilted, category; and
  • Wiffen’s “Welcome to the North Pole” in the Wall Quilts, Appliqued and/or Mixed Techniques and Quilted category, as well as to her “Vintage Tin” quilt in the Other Techniques category.

Thurman won a special Novice award for her Crazy Quilt. [Read more…]

First United Methodist announces two new staff members: Rev. Rachel Witt, Seth O’Kegley

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The Rev. Rachel Witt, new associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

The Rev. Rachel Witt, new associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Oak Ridge. (Submitted photo)

 

First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge has announced that two new staff members will be joining the church’s ministry team on July 1. The Rev. Rachel Witt will be assuming the position of associate pastor, and Seth O’Kegley will begin serving as music director. Their first Sunday in worship with the congregation will be July 3.

Originally from Kingsport, Witt has a bachelor’s degree in religion and a minor in music from Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia. She graduated in May with a Master of Divinity degree from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She has served as a clergy intern at Church Street United Methodist in Knoxville and at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Waxhaw, North Carolina.

Her experience also includes working as a counselor at Buffalo Mountain Camp outside Johnson City and as a summer youth ministry intern with the Holston Conference United Methodist Church based in Alcoa. Witt will be sharing in preaching and pastoral care responsibilities and will also provide leadership in outreach to young adults as well as various other ministries, a press release said.

A native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, O’Kegley has a bachelor’s degree in music education from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. He graduated in May with a master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. [Read more…]

AC students team up with veterinarian, dogs to study, protect state reptile

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CRESO and DOE OREM Turtle Hunt with Boykin Spaniels 1

Pictured above at right is John Byrd, director and co-founder of the Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization, or CRESO. At center is Dr. Matt Allender, DVM (zoo veterinarian from University of Illinois). He operates the Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory, or W.E.L. They worked with Boykin Spaniels and Anderson County middle and high school students to collect information about the state’s reptile, the Eastern Box Turtle, at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. (DOE photo/Lynn Freeny)

 

Anderson County middle and high school students contributed to long-term ecological field studies at the University of Tennessee Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Tuesday, using Boykin Spaniels to help a veterinarian and an education and research program collect information about the state’s reptile, the Eastern Box Turtle.

The Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization, or CRESO, is leading the “turtle hunts” with the students this week, from June 27-30 in Oak Ridge. More than 20 students will participate in the program and experience hands-on field research, a press release said.

Collecting information about box turtles is a priority for CRESO to learn how local human activity is affecting their health and habitat, the press release said.

The Boykin Spaniels involved in the turtle hunt are a dog breed that has an uncanny ability to sniff out turtles. Boykins can swiftly find four to 12 turtles in an hour compared to the human ability of finding one every four hours. The Boykin’s soft mouth and calm, easy temperament ensures the turtles are not harmed. [Read more…]